|
| Background
| Facts | Presidential
Letters |
 |
 |
In
1945, while serving in the U.S. Navy, Felix deWeldon undertook
one of his greatest and most famous works, which catapulted
him to fame, "The Flag Raising on Iwo Jima", known
officially as the "U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial"
in Arlington, VA.
It was a project, which came to occupy almost a decade of his
life! In his own words: "A baby usually takes nine months,
this took nine years. But it was a very big baby!"
|
Click
on images to enlarge
Felix
de Weldon
Iwo Jima Memorial
Bronze with granite base
Limited
Edition
Size (inches)
21 1/2h (42.75 w/flag) x 27 w x 17.5 d
Price: US$ 37,500
ORDER
HERE
|
He
recalled that he was stationed at the Patuxent Naval Air
Station in Maryland, when he saw Associated Press photographer
Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Price winning photograph of
the six Marines, who fought their way up Iwo Jima’s
Mount Suribachi to raise the American flag. He was so moved
that he began sculpting the first model immediately. Within
48 hours he had finished his first wax model, standing 52
inches high.
As soon as the Marine Corps Commandant, General Shepherd
saw the model, he transferred Mr. de Weldon immediately
from the Navy to the Marine Corps and commissioned the first
bronze monument where the figures were 16 feet tall.
Then the 78 feet-high masterpiece for Washington, D.C. was
commissioned with every detail hand done. All figures were
first sculpted in the nude and then the clothing was meticulously
damped over the muscle formations, giving it such a life-like
feeling. The scale is immense with canteens large enough
to hold 64 quarts of water and fingers as large as a man’s
leg.
The monument was dedicated in November, 1954 at its present
site in Arlington, Virginia. It became the world´s
largest sculpture ever cast in bronze and is visited by
literally hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Felix de Weldon viewed this memorial as a symbol of unity,
action and determination: the will to make the ultimate
sacrifice and the dedication to maintain peace, freedom
and hold our flag high.
This memorial is by far the most recognizable monument in
the history of the world.
The famous inscription, witnessing their glory, speaks for
itself:
|
"
Uncommon valor is a common virtue"
In
order to view the 1954 Invitation to the Iwo Jima Memorial Dedication
Ceremony
the use of the Adobe(R) Acrobat Reader program is required.
Click
here to download.
|
|
